A quote: “Distrust and caution are the parents of security.” ~~ Benjamin Franklin

I’ll start with a story …

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We almost didn’t make it. We kept believing in a fabric that had worn and frayed beyond repair. But the Great Defeat at Salt Lake almost wiped us out.

It was the first major victory of the emerging Graymen.

I mused on that doom as the November wind plucked at my great coat and I tried to keep Adira in sight. That woman would be the death of us.

Oh, not by ambush. She was as paranoid as five of my most gloomy deputies. But keeping up with her as she scrambled like a flippin’ mountain goat across cliff faces and through the densest forests.

Who knew there was such a thing as a warrior horticulturalist?

Adira practically ran the Archives, but hearing the scout reports locating an abandoned nursery was enough to send her out with us trailing as her guard and pack mules.

Spotting her poke back through the brush to give me a fist pump before disappearing just made me sigh. I hear the snick of her knife, making short work of dozens of trees. She comes to hand me a bundle of sticks, packed with moss and wrapped for transport. Scions, and a way forward.

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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license